Page 109 of Tanner

He took the envelope from Miles and looked at it without opening it. “You didn’t have to.”

Mrs. Hemsworth’s narrowed her eyes. “I’m beginning to suspect young men in this town are all raised with the same irritating sentence.”

Cody, still in the kitchen, called out, “Accurate.”

She ignored him completely. “You were sixteen when your parents died. Sixteen when I first saw you carrying Savannah in your arms while trying to fill in forms at the station. You always had milk for her and spare clothes and her rabbit when she cried. You were too young for any of it, but you did it anyway.”

Tanner didn’t move.

Mrs. Hemsworth nodded toward the envelope. “I put the truth in writing. That you raised her. That you have always been responsible. That whatever official language they want to use now doesn’t change what has already been true for years.”

Tanner looked down at the envelope. His throat worked once before he spoke. “Thank you.”

Mrs. Hemsworth gave a short nod then she glanced into the kitchen and spotted Savannah on the chair.

Savannah waved her spoon. “Hello.”

Mrs. Hemsworth’s whole face changed. “Hello, sweetheart.”

Savannah held up the yogurt pot. “Strawberry.”

“A good choice.”

Savannah nodded. “Good.”

Mrs. Hemsworth looked back at Tanner. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Then she turned and walked back down the path before anyone could try to make more of it.

Tanner shut the door slowly and stayed with his hand on it for a second. When he turned back, he still hadn’t opened the envelope.

“Want me to read it?” Miles asked.

Tanner shook his head. “Not yet.”

Later, Cody took Savannah outside and helped her draw chalk roads on the back path. Orsen rehung the kitchen cupboard door properly and tightened the loose rail on the front steps. Miles fixed the sticking window latch in Savannah’s room. Tanner moved between all of it, joining in where needed. He held boards steady, cleared tools out of the way, made drinks, wiped down the counter after lunch, and once even asked Cody to keep an eye on Savannah while he ran upstairs with the clean bedding.

Miles noticed every bit of it because Tanner didn’t trust easily. None of this came naturally to him, but he was doing it anyway.

Late in the afternoon, Orsen packed up the last of the tools and Cody gathered the empty grocery bags. Savannah had chalk on both knees and a streak of blue across one cheek. Tanner crouched to wipe it off with a damp cloth while she squirmed and complained.

“Stay still,” he told her.

“It tickles.”

“That’s because you’ve got half the yard on your face.”

Cody slung the bags over one shoulder. “We’ll leave you in peace before I’m drafted into bath duty.”

“You say that like you’re useful at bath duty,” Orsen said.

“I’m excellent at bath duty. I bring chaos and bubbles. Macy and Christian enjoy it. Well, not Macy so much now that she’s older.”

“The chaos is why you’re not invited.”

Cody looked at Tanner before he headed for the door. “You need anything tonight, you call, and I mean actual anything. You’re not alone.”

Tanner gave a small smile. “Thanks.”